New research co-authored by a UC Riverside business professor provides some sound advice for managers of retail outlets that limit their product selection to a particular brand: Managers should factor in the strength of their brand when structuring the pay incentives for their sales staff. The study focused on what marketing scholars call “brand-managed” retail operations. These outlets include “stores within stores,” such as counters in major department stores with dedicated sales staff that offer just one brand of cosmetics such as Clinique. They can also be stores ...

The fearsome, saber-like teeth of Smilodon fatalis — California's state fossil — are familiar to anyone who has ever visited Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits, a sticky trap from which more than 2,000 saber-toothed cat skulls have been excavated over more than a century. Though few of the recovered skulls had sabers attached, a handful exhibited a peculiar feature: the tooth socket for the saber was occupied by two teeth, with the permanent tooth slotted into a groove in the baby tooth. Paleontologist Jack Tseng, associate professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, doesn't think the double fangs ...

When COVID-19 caused significant economic disruptions, thousands of people around the world experienced sudden shocks to their financial situation through reduced earnings or job losses. Now economic researchers at the University of South Australia have examined the mental health effects on people who experienced immediate or expected financial setbacks during the height of the pandemic. Data gathered from China, Japan and South Korea during the early phases of the pandemic revealed that the severe economic shocks induced by COVID-19 caused significant ...

A healthy lifestyle may offset the effects of life-shortening genes by more than 60%, suggests an analysis of the findings from several large long term studies, published online in the journal BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.   While genes and lifestyle seem to have an additive effect on a person’s lifespan, an unhealthy lifestyle is independently linked to a 78% heightened risk of dying before one’s time, regardless of genetic predisposition, the research indicates. The polygenic risk score (PRS) combines ...

Frequent teen vaping might boost the risk of exposure to lead and uranium, potentially harming brain and organ development, suggests research published online in the journal Tobacco Control.   The findings underscore the need for implementation of regulations and prevention efforts targeting teens, emphasise the researchers. Vaping is popular with teens. In 2022, an estimated 14% of US high school students—around 2.14 million—and more than 3% of middle school students—around 380,000—reported vaping in the preceding month, note the researchers. Certain metals have been identified in e-cigarette aerosols and ...

Inhaling the synthetic opioid fentanyl may cause potentially irreversible brain damage (toxic leukoencephalopathy), warn doctors in the journal BMJ Case Reports, after treating a middle aged man found unresponsive in his hotel room after snorting the drug. Leukoencephalopathy refers to inflammation and damage to the brain’s white matter—the network of nerve fibres that enable the exchange of information and communication between different areas of the brain’s grey matter.  Toxic leukoencephalopathy is a sudden or longstanding neurological syndrome, which ...

The man arrived unconscious and near death. Previously healthy with no known medical history, the 47-year-old arrived by ambulance to the emergency department at Oregon Health & Science University on Feb. 25, 2023. He was found collapsed in his hotel room, where he was staying during a business trip. As clinicians began administering life-saving treatment, they searched for the cause. In a case report published online today in the journal BMJ Case Reports, clinicians laid out the surprising and unprecedented diagnosis: toxic ...

EMBARGOED UNTIL 23:30 UK TIME MONDAY 29 APRIL 2024 Peer-reviewed/Randomised Control Trial/Humans The phase 1/2 randomized trial compared results from the measles and rubella vaccine delivered by a microarray patch, a small sticking plaster-like device with an array of microscopic projections that painlessly penetrate the skin and deliver the vaccine, or by conventional injection with a needle and syringe. The trial, which involved 45 adults (18-40 years old), 120 toddlers (15-18 months old) and 120 infants (9-10 months old) in The Gambia, ...

BOZEMAN – A team at Montana State University published research this week that shows how RNA, the close chemical cousin to DNA, can be edited using CRISPRs. The work reveals a new process in human cells that has potential for treating a wide variety of genetic diseases.  Postdoctoral researchers Artem Nemudryi and Anna Nemudraia conducted the research alongside Blake Wiedenheft, professor in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Biology in MSU’s College of Agriculture. The paper, titled “Repair of CRISPR-guided RNA breaks enables site-specific RNA excision ...

Irvine, Calif., April 29, 2024 — Computer simulations by astronomers support the idea that dark matter – matter that no one has yet directly detected but which many physicists think must be there to explain several aspects of the observable universe – exists, according to the researchers, who include those at the University of California, Irvine.    The work addresses a fundamental debate in astrophysics – does invisible dark matter need to exist to explain how the universe works the way it ...

In 2020, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Bostock vs. Clayton County that transgender people are legally protected from employment discrimination. This came at a time of increased visibility, but also of legal and social challenges to the rights of transgender individuals. Meanwhile, there has been very little study of labor market discrimination against them. Rensselaer researcher Billur Aksoy, Ph.D., has recently conducted an innovative survey of Americans’ attitudes toward transgender people in the workplace.   Her paper, “Understanding Labor Market Discrimination Against Transgender ...

Portland State University's Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) maintains two large, public transportation data lakes: PORTAL and BikePed Portal. The latest round of funding for PORTAL, in the amount of $1.6 million, was awarded in February 2024 and will cover PORTAL's activities through the next five years. BikePed Portal, too, recently received $100K for another year of funding, and both are the focus of some exciting innovations in transportation data. The two centralized ...

Test would be quicker and non-invasive but more research needed **ECCMID has now changed name to ESCMID Global, please credit ESCMID Global Congress in all future stories** Exhaled breath may be very promising alternative to blood for the therapeutic monitoring of antibiotics, the ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) will hear. Therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is used to monitor antibiotic concentrations in patients with severe infections and in patients in intensive care units. These patients may metabolise drugs differently and so may not respond to conventional ...

**ECCMID has now changed name to ESCMID Global, please credit ESCMID Global Congress in all future stories** New research presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2024, Barcelona 27-30 April) shows that levels of resistance to antimicrobials (AMR) varies with age and sex, with age in particular showing substantial variation both between and within countries. The study is by Gwen Knight, Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and co-Director of the LSHTM AMR Centre, London, UK, ...

Flushing of toilets without lids likely responsible for ceiling contamination Put lid down before flushing at home, say the researchers **ECCMID has now changed name to ESCMID Global, please credit ESCMID Global Congress in all future stories** Pathogenic bacteria and fungi, including multi-drug resistant “superbugs” have been found on the floors, ceilings, door handles and other surfaces of hospital toilets in the UK, with patient toilets the worst affected, the ESCMID Global Congress (formerly ECCMID) in Barcelona, Spain (27-30 April) will ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For most people, biting into a lemon would leave them puckered up and desperate to lose that sour flavor, but a new study by Penn State researchers revealed that roughly one in eight adults like intensely sour sensations. The cross-cultural study, recently published in the journal Food Quality and Preference, demonstrated there is a subset of “sour likers” who enjoy exceptionally sour foods. “This is the first time it's been convincingly shown that there is a segment of adults who likes strongly sour things,” said John Hayes, professor ...

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) received the Vineyard Cares Business of the Year Award. This award, given by Vineyard as part of the Impact Vineyard Awards, honors businesses that have made significant contributions to the community. “Receiving this award is a tremendous honor for Huntsman Cancer Institute,” says Mary Beckerle, PhD CEO of Huntsman Cancer Institute. “It underscores the incredible welcome we have received from the community as we work to expand access to world-class cancer research and care, bringing hope closer to home for our patients. I am grateful for the tireless dedication ...

PULLMAN, Wash. – While increasingly visible among adults, polyamory also exists among adolescents, and as a new study indicates, so does the stigma that can come with it. A Washington State University study of 323 youth ages 12 to 17 at an LGBTQ+ summer camp found that 54, or about 16.7%, identified as polyamorous or ambiamorous, meaning they were open to either monogamous or polyamorous relationships. These “poly” and “ambi” youth reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than their LGBTQ+ peers. The study, one of the first to investigate polyamorous relationships in youth, was published in the journal Psychology & Sexuality. “It ...

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  The article referenced in Tip #4 on color ultrasound for suspected GCA will not be published on April 30. If you had planned to cover this topic, please hold your stories until further notice. In its place, Annals will publish the following:  Sodium–Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors and the Risk for Dialysis and Cardiovascular Disease in Patients With Stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease  Abstract: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M23-1874   Please contact Angela ...

New Orleans, La. – Xavier University of Louisiana (Xavier), a leading undergraduate institution in preparing Black students to successfully complete medical school, has announced continued progress with Ochsner Health (Ochsner), the Gulf South’s leading academic medical center in training physicians, to launch their transformational Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine (XOCOM). This groundbreaking partnership marks a significant milestone in advancing medical education by addressing health disparities ...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Boleslaw Szymanski, Ph.D., and Chunyu Wang, M.D. Ph.D., have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement Science (AAAS). Steven Cramer, Ph.D., who was elected AAAS Fellow in 2017, was elected Council Member of the Section on Engineering. The mission of the AAAS is to “advance science, engineering, and innovation throughout the world for the benefit of all.” Each year, AAAS elects fellows whose “efforts… are scientifically or socially distinguished.”  Over RPI’s 200-year history, 70 RPI faculty members have been ...

SAN ANTONIO, April 29, 2024 – In a recent round of grant awards, the STRONG STAR Consortium based at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) was selected by the U.S. Department of Defense for a total of $17 million in funding to launch eight new research projects focused on traumatic brain injury and psychological health. The combined projects will enable the consortium to take a big step forward in its mission to advance the care of military personnel and veterans recovering from war-related trauma ...

Researchers have developed a technique to move objects around with a jet of wind. The new approach makes it possible to manipulate objects at a distance and could be integrated into robots to give machines ethereal fingers. ‘Airflow or wind is everywhere in our living environment, moving around objects like pollen, pathogens, droplets, seeds and leaves. Wind has also been actively used in industry and in our everyday lives – for example, in leaf blowers to clean leaves. But so far, we can’t control the direction the leaves move – we can only blow them together into a pile,’ says Professor Quan Zhou from Aalto University, who led the study. The first ...

ITHACA, N.Y. – When hunting for mice in winter, red and arctic fox are known to plunge headfirst at speeds of 2-4 meters per second, but their sharp noses reduce the impact force in snow and protect them from injury, according to a new Cornell University study. The fundamental research sheds light on the biomechanics of the unique hunting behavior (known as mousing), advances our understanding of animal adaptations and offers insights into snow injuries people experience during snowboarding or skiing. The study published April 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Look closely at Impressionist paintings in museums compared with photos of them taken 50 years ago, and you might notice something odd:  some are losing their bright yellow hues. Take the dramatic sunset in Edward Munch’s famous painting “The Scream.” Portions of the sky that were once a vivid orangish yellow have faded to off-white. Likewise, some of the sunny yellow that Henri Matisse brushed between the reclining nudes in his painting “The Joy of Life” is now more of a drab beige. Several other paintings from this period are facing ...